MUSIC SCENE: Lauren Henderson's tour off to sizzling start

Saturday

Lauren Henderson, the Wheaton College grad and Marblehead native, excels at nuanced vocals, the finely chiseled little shadings that bring out a song's humanity.

That's what makes her jazz stylings so appealing, and with the added impetus of an all-star backing band Friday night at the RegattaBar in Harvard Square, the American tour for her brand new album "Armame" got off to a sizzzling start. Henderson had six musicians backing her, including 'The Late Show with Stephen Colbert' band stalwarts Joe Saylor on drums and Michael Thurber on bass, along with saxophonist Christopher McBride, guitarist Nick Tannura, violinist Tessa Lark, and pianist Mark Ruffin (who produced the new album). Henderson's 95-minute set included a handful of songs from the new album, some tunes she's done previously, and some things she's working on and recording for her next album.

Henderson majored in music and Hispanic studies in college and her musical career has followed a similar path, and she's spent time in Mexico studying the music of that area, and more recently has split her time between her New York City base and Miami, where she's been happily delving into that city's potpourri of Afro-Cuban sounds. As we noted in our Music Scene column about her last week, Henderson is also busy pursuing a master's in business degree through Brown University, and that program had her in Spain last month. She fit in a few musical dates in Spain, and performed a short tour of Italy just before returning to the States to kick off this tour with her album's release.

The new album is a gem of understated but evocative musical soul-baring, weaving smart, swinging jazz elements with all sorts of Latin rhythms and textures. That Thurber-Saylor rhythm section is jaw-droppingly good at crafting a wide variety of rhythmic foundations, creating endlessly interesting patterns and little improvisations without ever intruding on the main melody or the singer's impact. Ruffin and Tannura displayed a real sense of precision, the ability to play the right notes but also to leave enough space for their bandmates, and Henderson, to make their contributions too. And McBride's sax solos were marvels in their own way, each one seemingly a novella of melodic exploration. But from soft, smoky jazz ballads, to gently rocking gospel-tinged clap-alongs, to infectious Latin celebrations, Henderson and her band were tight and precise, yet also seemed to be having loads of fun, which was contagious.

The evening opened with "The Great City," from the new CD, sort of a laidback ballad celebrating the excitement of places like the Big Apple. For her new album, Henderson added some Spanish lyrics to the original tune, but her delivery of the song's lines about the heady joy of getting in, balanced with the concern about ever getting back out, deftly portrayed the song's tension, and solos by McBride and Ruffin enhanced the feeling.

A song Henderson revealed she's planning for her next CD was an old semi-standard, Jimmy Van Heusen's "Like Someone In Love," and in the Friday night rendition it was a slowly building piece, gradually developing into a swinging ballad. After Henderson's vocals aptly embodied the swirling mix of joyful emotions in new love, increasingly torrid solos from McBride, then Tannura, and then Ruffin, turned the number into a finger-popping romp. And again, kudos to the rhythm section for how easily they navigated that tune's exciting tempo shifts.

"The Old Country," which Henderson introduced as a Cannonball Adderley song, done by nancy Wilson in the version she liked best, was re-framed Friday night as a slightly off-kilter march, with Ruffin's piano adding a distinct Latin flavor. But that song also featured McBride's best solo, an alto sax jaunt that seemed to tell a story without ever losing the feel of the original melody. But then Thurber unveiled a remarkable solo on his acoustic standup bass, managing to depict both a Latin shading and a blues foundation, with bent notes, and bits of single note side trips that had even the other musicians looking on in wonder.

One quibble we'd have would be with the sound mix, which had Henderson's vocals too low, even when she was introducing songs. We'd guess that the Spanish tune with the slinky beat

was the title cut, "Armame,"--which translates as "arm me,"' more or less, a plea for strength in a relationship. That Henderson composition skillfully combines an infectious beat with a sultry melody, and, as on the album, the piano figure and arpeggios that marked its second half were really compelling Friday.

"Inside a Silent Tear," from jazz star Blossom Dearie, was a real showcase for the whole septet. Starting with soft and quiet guitar, Henderson's vocal was whispery but passionate, so that Lark's violin solo came as a relief of sorts, gliding effortlessly over the melody and opening it up. McBride's alto sax pushed matters into a more visceral territory, before pulling back to a smoother, more comforting tone, as the singer brought the sensuous journey to an evocative end.

It sure seemed like the bright and exhilarating cantina atmosphere of the final song was "Todo Tiene Su Final," which also closes out the album. We could be wrong about that last song title, but the night was a warm and triumphant return for the local kid anyway.